>> you're very welcome, piers. thank you for having me on. >> "ac 360" starts right now. we begin with the president will make a statement at 1:00 p.m. from the east room on the economy. that touches on the dysfunction in washington that americans say they hate. many think they went to bed to fix that. keeping them honest, not so fast. in seven weeks, the bush tax cuts expire, automatic spending cuts kick in. it's being called a fiscal cliff and even though it's more like the fiscal steep slope, heading down it it could do bad things to the economy. rolling down it, falling off it, have made markets nervous and credit rating agencies and economists of all stripes are warning about the consequences of not harming out a deal in time. politicians have been sending

out mixed signals since the election. on the one hand, they are talking about common ground. take a look. >> we want our children to live in an america that isn't burdened by debt, isn't weakened by inequality. that isn't threatened by the disruptive power of a warming planet. >> the nation as you know is at a critical point. at a time like this, we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. >> if there is a mandate in yesterday's results, it's a mandate for to us find a way to work together on the solutions to the challenges we all face. >> it's better to work than to fight. everything doesn't have to be a fight. >> sounds promising. tonight house speaker boehner ruled out any deal that lets any tax rates go up. >> raising tax rates is unacceptable. >> vice president biden told reporters that democrats gave a clear mandate that promises the same over and over again.

>> another tax cut that favors the wealthy is not change. i won't turn medicare into a voucher to pay for another millionaire's tax cut. i want to make sure that the wealthiest households pay a little more. >> keeping them honest, voters did vote in the popular vote. they increased the democratic lead in the senate. however, they preserve republican control of the house. no matter how ugly you think the tone in washington has been over the last four years, no matter how childishly you think a lot of lawmakers have acted, on a structural level who controls what, may be less change than meets the eye which is why what you will hear in coming weeks will sound less like this. >> everything doesn't have to be a fight. everything doesn't have to be a fight. >> more like this. more like each side getting ready for an epic fight.

>> i do not think we should be raising taxes, especially when the country is on the brink of a recession. >> you can have a compromise? >> yes. i think so. >> there was a gap before you said yes. that scares me. >> i had spend every moment in the senate working to help lead the effort to stop that. >> another round of tax breaks for wealthy people will somehow trickle down. we know that doesn't work. >> the president wants to raise taxes, raise taxes on the wealthiest 2% of the americans. we won't help you get that done, mr. president. >> olympia snowe joins me now. senator snow, you said senators should be individually and collectively embarrassed. those were your words, about the failure to work together to work together to face big issues. based on rhetoric, do you have faith they will be able to work together to avoid the fiscal cliff? >> i certainly hope so, anderson.

i thought based on what the president said it bode well on the over of his election, as well as what speaker boehner addressed in his own remarks yesterday, and the president will make a speech tomorrow. but it's critical we begin to do so as soon as possible. the more we prolong the uncertainty and unpredictability, the more likely we will trigger a financial crisis. we have seen what's happened on the stock market. we never know. and the sooner we can get back on track, helping the economy, helping businesses make decisions for the future that will help generate economic growth, the better off we'll be. but the uncertainty is certainly a dangerous -- it's dangerous and we're in unchartered waters. >> do you see any real signs of a willingness to compromise. even speaker boehner, basically gave an interview which he said that obama care is the law of

the land and walked back after tea party groups went ballistic about it. >> one thing i know from this election and certainly i think we should all have learned, is that people want bipartisanship, and they understand that compromise is absolutely invaluable ingredient to getting things done. we have an obligation to be problem solvers. now more than ever. given the tenuous nature of our times and this -- in the situation that we're in as a country. i describe it as not just any moment. we're at a tipping point. so it's crucial and i think the president should invite the leadership in both the house and senate to sit down to, begin to sketch out an agenda and a framework by which we'll address these issues in the lame duck session. >> have republicans figured out how to move forward? there are extremes in your party, just as there are extremes in the democratic party. but let's talk about the republican party.

there are extremes in the republican party and it seems a lot of republican leader who's are not on the extreme have hard time calling out the extreme or having an open discussion about it. >> well, that's why they are leaders, they are going to have to take those positions in doing what is right. obviously, they represent the causes, elected by the caucuses, but sometimes they are also going to have to stand up and say we have to move forward and we have to do that. i've been -- i've worked with six presidents, and certainly worked that way with president reagan, and had to build coalition in order to get things done. he didn't get everything he wanted, but he got some of what he wanted, the most important things. both sides have to understand that and reach accommodation. no other way to do that in the united states senate. you need 60 votes, and both sides have to get together and make concessions. the american people understand that. they know that you have to solve

problems and that you have to reach consensus and compromise in order to do some of. >> senator snowe, appreciate it. >> and how much is this a matter of structural division that this latest election did little to change? we're joined by mark mackinnon who formed a foundation that is dedicated to bipartisanship. he is a national songwriter, and also david gergen and gloria borgeer. you think the on us is on the president to set the tone. is that because he bears more responsibility or because he just has a better ability as president to set the tone? >> you know, he just got re-elected as president of the united states, and i think when you are president, it's incumbent upon you, we'll hear from him tomorrow to set the tone for negotiations to extend the olive branch and say, you know what? i want to work with the folks on

the other side of the aisle. not saying that the president has to completely compromise with himself, before he sits down at the table. i know he is not going to do that. to me, anderson, the problem is, and i was listening to olympia snowe, nobody got punished for bad behavior in this election. everybody can take something away and say the public is with me. >> to david's point. all of the election we heard from both candidates, president obama and governor romney, and that the choice couldn't be clearer, president obama wanted to raise taxes on the wealthiest americans, mitt romney who did not. and now the choice has been made, all of a sudden, we're hearing from a lot of republicans saying that's not the choice that the american people made. >> anderson, i would respectfully say both parties intentionally muddled the choice during the campaign. neither candidate set guard a comprehensive agenda for dealing

with the deficits and it's now incumbent on both parties to do that the president ought to set the tone, but i think speaker boehner has to come forward, they ought to be sitting down together, and in the next 48 to 72 hours. >> i mean, he made a statement about obama care being the law of the land and he's walking that back, because of tea party -- >> that's true. what we've got is a problem -- russell long described a long time ago, the senator. he said everybody in washington wants to go to heaven. but nobody wants to do what it takes to get there. and that's what we've got. they are all for compromise, as long as it's on their terms and what have you now, especially in the republican party, an extreme element, deeply dug in over no tax increases, and a democratic party, a group of people, equally dug in on medicare and social security. not touching benefits. for that, you can't get there to entitlement reform, and the

president has to unlock that now. that's what being elected as-to-a second term. second term is not all about laurels and applause. you have to do hard work. >> which is worse for republican lawmaker, the consequences compromise or the consequences of failing to compromise? >> the consequences, anderson will, be if there is no action. what we saw across the board from no labels as we campaigned across the country, talking to candidates and voters, is that they don't care about partisan politics at this point. they just want the problem solved. americans understand that there has to be give on both sides. so i'm encouraged actually that -- that voters get it. they sent the message and i think our elective representatives know at the end of the day. a lot of posturing going on. i'm encouraged about what speaker boehner said about revenues. may have hedged that a bit in the last 24 hours. may want to see where he can get it from tax reform first, ultimately, republicans are acknowledges, which is a good sign, there has to be revenue as part of the deal. >> you think it's posturing

right now? >> i think it's what harry reid said. a lot of dancing going on. but i think we'll get to the thick pretty soon. >> everybody sees the fiscal cliff coming. how much can congress get done, especially if they only give it a week or so? >> that's the big question. two things to consider here. first is the question of the bush tax cuts for the wealthy expiring. the president has said that's going to happen, and that's the real stumbling block here, before you get even to the larger question of the fiscal cliff. everybody knows in the larger package, everybody wants to do tax reform, mitt romney proposed capping deductions, for example, during a campaign, something republicans might be able to sign on to, but even before they get to tax reform, they have to figure out how to get around this larger problem, and, you know, in talking to democrats, chuck schumer suggested redefine wealth. make it tax cuts expiring for

people who earn over $1 million a year. they have to find a way to get around that. if they can do that, they can have a framework for everything else. >> mark, i'm curious to hear what you have to say. the republican party, i think i've heard you say in the past, they have a problem with its brand right now. what lessons should they take from the results of the election? if you listen to rush limbaugh, it's like we don't have a demographic problem. the problem was not enough republicans came out and voted, so all of the talk about the extremes and demographic problem is not true and i saw sean hannity switching his position on immigration, or said he's evolved to that. >> well, i don't think the results could be any clearer, and to suggest that the republicans didn't turn out, that's true they didn't turn out.

part of the reason they didn't turn out, a lot of them recognize there wasn't a clear message coming from the republican party, that the brand has suffered a lot because of failure to step forward and put forward clear plans and to problem solve. i mean, republicans, just like democrats agree, we have to solve these problems, they understand there has to be give. so it's about stepping up to the plate, recognizing that there is sacrifice on both parties that needs to be put on the table, and i think i look forward to the president's remarks and he should get everybody in the room, lock it up, and get it done. >> good to have you on. let us know what you think. i'm on twitter @anderson cooper. just ahead, where does the tea party stand in the wake of tuesday's election, michele bachmann kept her seat. the tea party didn't expand its ranks in congress. and some republicans are saying the tea party may have cost romney the election. where does the movement go from here? that's next.

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president obama's re-election was obviously a loss for mitt romney, a huge one, but by extension, may have been an even bigger loss for the tea party. after all, paul ryan, a tea party favorite, couldn't deliver his own state of wisconsin for his ticket. he will return to his house seat to serve an eighth term. many tea party members kept their house seats as well but they didn't increase their ranks on tuesday, and they lost two very winnable senate races. it's a pretty big contrast to the splash they made in the 2010 midterm elections and the muscle they flexed throughout the prime aries. here's gary tuchman. >> reporter: this is not the scene most supporters of the tea party envisioned or desired. barack obama was supposed to be a one term president. >> liberty, yes. obama care, no. liberty, yes. obama care, no. >> reporter: a primary mission of the tea party, get the government out of people's lives. there was even an african-american led chapter in south-central l.a. complete with a sign at one rally that read

tea party supports mlk's dream. >> i see today that fidel castro likes obama care but we don't like obama care. doesn't that kind of tell you something? >> reporter: there was a lot of passion but also problems. there was christine o'donnell running for senate in delaware. years earlier, she had told bill maher she had dabbled in witchcraft and she delivered this line in a political ad. >> i'm not a witch. >> reporter: not only did she lose but some say this was an early sign of problems the gop would later have with untested tea party candidates. there were many other notable tea partiers in the limelight that year. sharon engle running for senate in nevada, tripped up when she said this to a group of latino teen agers. >> i don't know that all of you are latino. some of you look a little more asian to me. i don't know that. >> reporter: as the tea party increased its influence, speculation increased. former vice presidential candidate sarah palin won for president.

>> many of us today, that outrage, that moment of outrage, it came with the passage of obama care. >> reporter: ultimately, palin decided not to run for president in 2012. but friends of the tea party like newt gingrich, rick santorum, herman cain, rick perry and michele bachmann did. i caught up with bachmann at the state fair in 2010. she was running for re-election for congress and was at the height of her influence. >> i don't take it for granted. i don't take any election for granted. thank you. >> reporter: in 2012 not only did her support drop quickly in the presidential race, she barely won her congressional race this week. it was worse for two other tea party favorites. todd akin lost his senate race in missouri. his effort not helped by this comment. >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. >> reporter: and richard mourdock lost his senate race in indiana after he said this. >> even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> reporter: the tea party's anti-government message continues to resonate with many. but arguably, the group's policies and miscues might have cost the gop a chance to be the majority party in the u.s.

senate. tea party supporters put together a video of what they expected to see this week. >> tea party.net is revolutionizing the movement. they think it's over. won't it be fun to see their faces on november 6th? >> reporter: as it turns out for them, it wasn't a lot of fun. gary tuchman, cnn, atlanta. in the wake of tuesday's losses, the tea party is taking heat from some republicans who believe the tea party's views on socialist views alienated voters and cost romney the election. it's complicated. here's what house speaker john boehner said today in an interview with diane sawyer. >> is the tea party going to be by your side through this? >> we've got members from all different types of -- all walks of life, if you will. >> do you think they come back changed by this election? >> listen, i think this has been the most misreported story of my two years tenure. we don't have a tea party caucus to speak of in the house.

all of us who were elected in 2010 were supported by the tea party. these are ordinary americans who have taken a more active role in our government. they want solutions. but we've all come a long way over the last two years, i think we all understand each other a lot better. >> joining me now, former white house press secretary ari fleischer, unpaid occasional communications advisor to the romney campaign. also van jones, former special advisor to the obama white house. ari, what about that? is the tea party to blame for fielding some candidates who weren't ready for prime time, for some of the problems the republican party is having, or what? >> well, it's complicated and it varies from state to state. frankly, in missouri, where todd akin was a horrible candidate and said foolish, foolish things, wasn't the tea party candidate. he actually ran against two tea party endorsed candidates. they split the vote. he walked into the middle of it. so akin was more your

traditional social conservative wing of the party. i don't think he's a traditional tea partier. and in 2010, the tea party's record was terribly mixed. they brought us on the one side marco rubio and senator ron johnson. to their credit. they defeated moderates. rubio defeated a moderate. he's a stellar senator. on the other hand, they brought us christine o'donnell and sharron angle in nevada, neither one of which was qualified to be a nominee, let alone a senator. my issue, i like the economic conservatism of the tea party. they are the ones reminding america that we are going broke. but in addition to having that message, they have to have good messengers. you cannot separate message from messenger. >> van, according to tuesday's exit polling, central tenet of the tea party that of less government is still alive, 51% say government is doing too much. can democrats make room, do they need to make room for policies that support that message? >> well, first of all, when we talk about the tea party, i think sometimes people just say everything they don't like about the republican party, they just say that's the tea party. that's not fair. the tea party is one of the most

impressive citizen movements in the history of the country. they have to be spoken with with a certain amount of respect. however, they have been i think harmful to the gop. the gop's big problem now is that they have backed themselves in this sort of demographic cul-de-sac where they just are a dwindling party at this point. they are not appealing broadly and some of the style and tone of the tea party has been very offensive to people of color, to women and it's going to make it harder for the gop to govern and grow. the other thing is they were rejected this week at the ballot box. not that they didn't grow. key tea party heroes were voted out of office. alan west is gone, joe walsh is gone so i think they've got to really reconsider what they're doing. at the same time i think it would be a mistake for democrats to say that we can't work with anybody in the tea party. that's not true. or that the entire republican party is just the tea party caucus. that's also not true. >> but ari, it seems like some of that not willing to compromise, some of that

rhetoric came from tea party groups, that idea that if you're compromising you're giving up your principles and it's better to stand on principle, you know, damn the torpedos, full speed ahead. >> look, i don't think compromise is a dirty word. i think we have to get things done in washington. but when we have a debt the size of the debt we have, the tea party is really the ones who have woken us up to it and made us think this is the nation's number one problem and it must be tackled. we can't make the usual compromises of the past. we have to do fundamental big things. so i'm with them on that principle, focus on the debt, make meaningful, not temporary solutions to the debt. but at the end of the day, i do want to compromise. let me point one thing out. when you did have the boehner/obama compromise on debt limit, that was supported by two-thirds of house freshmen. only 50% of the democratic members voted for it. so there's also a bit of a mislabeling going on here. they did compromise on that debt limit agreement. the liberal caucus in the democratic party was not as willing to compromise. >> but it's --

>> you have to look at it issue by issue, not paint with too broad a brush. >> but it is interesting specifically on obama care, speaker boehner said today obama care is here to stay, it's the law of the land. members of the tea party went ballistic and now he's walked that back. >> i think that's right. part of i think the challenge for the tea party is they talk a lot about liberty, they don't talk as much about liberty and justice for all. there's a sense that they have a very narrow, almost negative view of what american patriotism is all about. and for those of us who consider ourselves to be deep patriots who want to see the full promise of america realized, who love the statue of liberty and therefore love immigration and immigrants and think we're a nation of immigrants, who believe in america the beautiful and therefore want to defend america's environment against polluters, we find that we can't quite figure out how to be in a conversation about what it means to be an american with the tea party ethic and their ethos when they approach problems. it's tough for us to figure out how to work together and i think it's important.

>> ari, just to the boehner example on obama care, is that an example where can a republican, leading republican now, fight back against the tea party if they so choose? if they wanted to, can they speak out against them? it seems there's a lot of people afraid to voice any opposition or have that public discussion. >> well, look, john boehner also today put the idea of taxes on the table. he has caught flack for that. at the end of the day it's the job of the president to split from the liberal base of his party and the job of the republicans to split from the most vociferous voice of the conservative movement if we're going to accomplish anything. no one is going to get everything they want in this new divided washington. what the american people are tired of is the nation fighting and everyone getting nothing. the tea party does make it more difficult for the speaker. on the other hand, the tea party are the ones who woke the republican party up to the fact that we're a nation going broke and we really do have to take it on. >> ari, appreciate you being on.

van jones as well. thanks very much. the obama campaign had a secret weapon it used to defeat mitt romney. highly technical sophisticated data mining operations. really fascinating. we will take a look at how it worked, kind of pull back the curtain, next. up. a short word that's a tall order. up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again.

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up close tonight, a first look at the previously unknown secret operation the obama campaign used to defeat mitt romney. as you've heard about or as you're about to learn, this operation was so highly organized, technical and computerized, could become a template for future campaigns. president obama spent months on

the campaign trail of course but so did mitt romney. the president shook hands, posed for photos with voters. so did mitt romney. so what was the ultimate difference between the two in terms of their operations? well, obama's data mining operation microtargeting voters. "time" magazine's white house correspondent michael scherer got an inside look at the operation and joins me now. this is so fascinating stuff, this whole notion of microtargeting. explain what that is and what surprised you most about it? >> there are a lot of different things that fall under that umbrella but basically what happened is after 2008 the obama campaign came back together and said we want to do this the way we always wanted to. we are going to build this campaign from the ground up so they invested heavily early last year in a huge amount of technical support staff, analytic people, they had a chief scientist, data base engineers and they really reengineered the whole democratic voter file so that it can now not just be a voter file

for reaching voters, but it can include fund-raising information that they collected from donors, it could also include all the information they gathered online. it could be overlaid on social networks like facebook, and so they created basically a holistic system where they could not just target people, but figure out the best ways to target people, and so in practice what it meant was almost everything that was happening in the chicago headquarters, the whole campaign was being tested over and over again, analyzed for ways to improve things, and so even the smallest decisions like who to host a fund-raiser or what to put in an e-mail or how to design a web page was actually tested against data they had collected. >> you mentioned like george clooney, you could win a dinner with him and president obama and with sarah jessica parker in new york. that was tested out before those people were picked, correct? >> so what happened was they did the clooney fund-raiser, obviously it was going to be a big draw, biggest hollywood star there is. it was enormously successful but they found when looking at the

data to who was giving money to enter the drawing to appear at that dinner with george clooney, the demographic that was giving the most money were women between the ages of 40 and 49 and it was on the west coast. so they realized two things. one, this group, women ages 40 to 49, like entering these kind of contests and two, there's a regional aspect to this, that people who live near clooney's house are more interested in being part of this sort of a fund-raiser so when they went to look for a follow-up they had this information in their hands and they started looking for someone who they could use on the east coast. that's how sarah jessica parker came about. someone who would appeal to that group of people and who would be in the new york area to try and tap into a new group of donors. >> also, it's very scientific in terms of who they would have reach out to people in states, they learned it was better to have somebody from the state, from the area, reach out? >> yeah, that's right. one of the big insights from 2008 is the best way to get people to do things is to have someone from their neighborhood, even better, someone they actually know, tell them to do it.

and they actually used this not just in their field organizing but at the end of the campaign, they had thousands of people had signed up for facebook app for the campaign. when you signed up for the app you basically gave the campaign all the information about who your facebook friends were, they overlaid that data with their own data bases and they were then able to ask you to target the people they wanted to get at. so if you were part of this facebook app you were getting messages in the final days saying message your friends, you know, joe schmo in colorado or in texas, and when you did that, they knew because they tested this as well, that the likelihood that your friend joe would act on your recommendation, go vote, go register, early voting's open, whatever it was, was far higher than in the campaign just sent an e-mail. >> you think this changes the game for future campaigns? >> in for years the technology will probably be light years ahead but it definitely changes the game. it also, because you had an incumbent re-elected, they were able to invest all the millions of dollars they did in this, it puts democrats at a significant advantage and republicans do

have a lot of catchup to do. >> not having a primary fight certainly helped out in that, devoting resources. appreciate it. fascinating stuff. coming up next, a number of people without power in new york is actually up from yesterday. as people shiver in the dark, they're boiling over at power companies and the government. we'll talk to one hard-hit resident when we continue. ♪ ♪

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digging deeper, late word tonight that starting tomorrow, people in new york's five boroughs and long island's two counties will have to check their license plates before trying to fill up with gas. officials announcing odd/even gas rationing to try and shrink the long gas lines and shortages that sprang up after sandy hit. new york mayor bloomberg saying only one in four city gas stations are open. that's not all. a week and a half since sandy, a day after a bad nor'easter, an awful lot of people, especially in new york and new jersey, still without power.

666,000 customers. that's actually up from yesterday, thanks to the nor'easter. people are cold, they're living in dark, damaged houses. they say they're getting the run-around from state and federal agencies and utility companies. listen to this woman who lives in staten island. >> where is the generator to heat, to plug in one heater and one light bulb? that i can survive? i'm a united states citizen. >> she's angry at con-ed and fema. fema says it has 15 relief centers across new york city but hopes to double that number by the weekend and have 50 centers up and running eventually. as for the power company in this case con-ed, there's a catch 22. they won't turn on the power until homeowners get their houses inspected for potentially lethal wiring damage but electricians are hard to come by and the company isn't providing any. a company spokesman saying quote, utility companies like con edison don't have electricians. the people have to do that on their own. it's their home, their property, their equipment. this is a safety measure. nick camarota and his wife dianne join us from staten island. they are living along with their kids without power in a house

heated only by propane stoves. i appreciate both of you being with us. you don't have power, you don't have gas. what are authorities saying to you? is there a plan to help? have you heard from them? >> yes. i just had the plumber come in to do -- look around. he says that everything that i did with the boiler to get it up and running as fast as i could was perfect. he would okay it. once we had power and gas restored. my meter, i only had -- my meter wasn't under water. my panel was four breakers on the panel were submerged. i already replaced the breakers on the panel but he was telling me that bloomberg may have shot down the program because they're afraid of restoring the power and being responsible for people's houses burning down.

>> have you got word from fema? have you talked to fema? >> fema came by, did their measurements, you know. they came and went. this is really ridiculous, you know. i'm going to stick it out, you know. i have no choice. i have nowhere to go. and this is all i got over here. i'm probably not the only one that's bearing the storm and bearing this tremendous inconvenience by the city. i mean, this is new york city. we should be, you know, prepared for stuff like this. we shouldn't have to be waiting out in the cold for power or gas to be restored after so many days went by. i know this was a tremendous devastation, but you know, this is 2012. you know, this is -- this is,

you know, modern technology. it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that we need power, we need gas down here right away. that's it. >> diane, as a mom, what's it like to see your kids going through this? >> this is devastating. i mean, my youngest is 8 years old. i have to dress him in layers. we have to do homework with blankets, not just one blanket, two, three blankets on and he's freezing, and i have to like keep him on my lap and make him do homework with me. believe me, i've had offers for people to take us in and get hot showers and i thank them from the bottom of my heart, but i can't leave my home. i can't leave -- i'm afraid to leave my home. i don't want what i have left to be taken from me and for my kids to be even more devastated than what they are, and to watch my kids shiver and say oh, mom,

when are we even going to have like heat in this house, it's so cold, why are the windows open, and to try to explain to an 8-year-old, no, vin, the windows aren't open, it's hard. it's hard. it breaks my heart. i try to make the best of it. it's just hard. it's very difficult. >> nick and dianne, we will continue to follow you and folks throughout this entire region. our thoughts and prayers are with you and we'll see how quickly power can get restored for you. thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. appreciate it. retired congresswoman gaby giffords in court facing her shooter. that next. but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] dayquil doesn't treat that. huh? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief to all your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth!

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loughner was sentenced today to life in prison without control. he plead guilty to the mass shooting that killed six people and injured 13, including former congresswoman gaby giffords. and the syrian president vowed to live or die in his homeland and issued a stark warning. he said foreign intervention in syria's bloody conflict would have a domino effect and come at an unbearable cost. two iranian fighter jets fired on a drone in the persian gulf days before the presidential election. drone, an international air space east of kuwait wasn't hit. u.s. postal service expects to handle 365 million packages, a 20% spike over last year. and an emotional visit for

president obama yesterday in chicago, he stopped by his campaign headquarters to thank staffers for their hard work and shed some tears. >> i'm really proud of you. a new mother in kenya has named her twin boys barack obama and mitt romney. they were born yesterday. no word on which baby won the race to be firstborn. can't wait until they start debating in that house. we saw throughout the campaign, fixing the economy, solving the debt crisis, top issues for voters, americans are tired of waiting. they want action, as tom foreman found out in tonight's building up america report. >> an hour outside of d.c., people in the smalltown. washington, virginia, spent months waiting to see what the

election would bring their way. and many, like cabinetmaker peter kramer being didn't much care whether democrats or republicans would win, just as long as the creeping economy starts racing again. >> i'm saying it's both of those people's fault, and, yeah, somebody fix it. let's get some people in washington who want to sit down and want to solve the problem, stop the gridlock. >> next door at the farmer's cafe, susan james felt much the same way. >> certainly the economy has changed the way we conduct business, and it's changed decisions we've made. major decisions. >> instead of expanding her family-owned business, she kept a close eye on costs, steered clear of debt and watched the electoral process play out. what is it that you most want to see from washington, d.c.? >> leadership and stepping up.

the game of passing the buck, blaming the other guy, sounds as if the way my brother and i used to fight when we were seven years old and people know it. we don't want that. >> reporter: it was that way all over town before the election. many like caitilin mullen were unsure what would happen with taxes, jobs -- >> i think a lot of people are scared to commit a large amount of money to anything, whether it be a couple hundred dollars for custom jewelry or a home. a lot of people are nervous. >> no one expects any quick fix for the economy. >> it's big and it's going to take some time and a lot of work, and it will be nice to get at it. >> but they are more than ready to start building up again, just as soon as the other washington settles down and gets back to work. tom foreman, cnn, washington, virginia. >> the "ridiculist" is next.

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tonight, we are adding confusing sweatshirts. that's right, damn you confusing sweatshirts. here's what happened. there was an election the other day, perhaps you heard about it. now this election involved many things, candidates, ballots, wolf blitzer hollering stand by, we have a projection every five minutes or so. the election also involved people known as voters.

now, i'm no john king, but from what i understand, voters when voting typically wear what those of us in the mainstream media refer to as clothes. and therein lies the problem. at least in two locations in colorado and florida, you see election officials were reportedly alarmed to see voters showing up in clothing emblazoned with the name mitt, a violation of election laws that prohibit campaigning for a candidate within a certain number of feet from voting booths. the problem? the shirts did not say mitt. they said m.i.t. as in massachusetts institute of technology. one of the top colleges in the country, by the way. mr. romney's name in case it wasn't clear, is spelled with two ts. now, i'm seriously not making this up. but look, i give election workers a lot of credit. they're helping our democracy. it's thankless work. what's more, you really can't blame them for thinking the romney campaign might have misspelled their candidate's name. remember this, the romney campaign's iphone app that allowed you to take a photo with the words "a better america" super imposed over it except

they misspelled the word america as amercia. look, i don't want to be a stickler about this but you know, i'm just really particular about spelling. frankly, i think anyone who isn't a good speller should be embarrassed. >> m-a-l- -- m-a-l-i-a-b-l-e. wait a minute. what did i say? hold on! m-a-l-i-a-b-l-e. [ buzzer ] >> sorry. >> i hate this game! >> yeah. i lost the spelling bee to a 12-year-old. so what? so what? but m.i.t., come on. it's not exactly an unown school. it has some brilliant students and pretty smart staffers. >> you dropped 150 grand on a [ bleep ] education you could have got for $1.50 and late charges at the public library. >> you mess with m.i.t. you get good will hunting up in your grill. for the voters who were singled out because of their shirts, they were allowed to vote after other workers stepped in to clarify the situation.